Some frequent fliers stand by Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets

Some frequent fliers say they aren’t worried about safety aboard Boeing’s problem-plagued 787 aircraft, and many less- seasoned travelers often are unaware of what model of plane they’re flying on.

That makes it anyone’s guess whether Boeing Co. or the airlines that use its planes will pay a price for concerns surrounding the 787. The planes were grounded worldwide Thursday after a battery fire on one and an emergency landing on another after pilots smelled something burning.

It’s likely that fires on the two 787 Dreamliners were caused by overcharged lithium-ion batteries, aviation-safety and battery experts said Friday, pointing to developments in the investigation of the Boeing incidents as well as a battery fire in a business jet more than a year ago.

An investigator in Japan, where a 787 made an emergency landing earlier this week, said the charred insides of the plane’s lithium-ion battery show the battery received voltage in excess of its design limits.

“I’m as excited today to get on a 787 as I was a year ago,” says Edward Pizzarello, a travel blogger who has logged four flights on the 787. “Boeing will fix this, and I’ll be flying on this plane for many years.”

Lee Simonetta, a research engineer at Georgia Tech, said he, too, would hop on the Dreamliner again. He was among the aviation fanatics aboard the plane’s first trip with paying customers, an All Nippon Airways flight from Tokyo to Hong Kong in October 2011. It was a time to marvel at a jet made of composite materials that make it lighter and far more fuel-efficient, and at its use of electrical systems to do just about everything.

That was before a series of incidents including fuel leaks, cracked windshields and overheating batteries gained worldwide attention. Photos of charred battery boxes from the planes popped up all over the Internet. Safety officials around the world took a second look at the planes, and the Federal Aviation Administration grounded 787s in this country — United Airlines is the only U.S. carrier to fly them, but several foreign airlines use them on flights to and from the U.S.

Boeing officials and some frequent fliers say there are hiccups with just about every new plane, and the 787 was a particularly bold technological leap over previous aircraft. But will those reassurances satisfy the flying public?

Mary Schiavo, a former inspector general of the U.S. Transportation Department and FAA critic who’s now an aviation lawyer, said she would not fly aboard a Dreamliner.

“It’s very serious. Nobody wants to get on a plane with these things happening,” Schiavo said.

Schiavo said she thinks that if Boeing and the FAA believe there is something wrong with a few batteries, replacing them with other lithium-ion batteries would be a quick repair.

But, she said, the FAA might force Boeing to use an entirely different type of battery, which could require redesign work and a new round of regulatory approvals that might take months.

Blake Fleetwood, president of Cook Travel in New York, said a few customers have called in the past two days to ask about the plane, but none have changed their itineraries.